The goal of the Interdepartmental Training Program in Cellular and Molecular Endocrinology at Johns Hopkins is to train physicians and postdoctoral fellows in biomedical science related to endocrinology and endocrine disease. The Program Director will work with a Steering Committee to choose candidates from two pools of highly talented individuals: 1) endocrine fellows at Johns Hopkins who have completed one year of clinical endocrine training, and 2) M.D. and Ph.D. applicants from this and other institutions who have a strong interest in fundamental laboratory training. Selection will be based not only on an individual's qualifications and interests, but also on their potential and commitment to applying fundamental science to clinical problems. The training program consists of at least two years of intensive basic science laboratory work under the direction of sixteen preceptors whose interests fall within the broad concepts of molecular and cellular biology, membrane protein biochemistry, genetics, cellular physiology, and developmental biology. Trainees will learn and use laboratory techniques including recombinant DNA and RNA manipulations, transgenic technology, protein biochemistry, electrophysiology, cell and tissue culture, and immunology as applied endocrine problems. In addition to basic laboratory work, trainees will participate in a curriculum that consists of research seminars, journal club, clinical conferences, and formal courses to be selected by mutual decision between the trainee, the preceptor, and the Program Director. The clinical experience is limited to 2 to 4 half-day sessions per month in an Outpatient Endocrine Clinic. The availability of an NIH-funded General Clinical Research Center provides trainees with an opportunity to develop clinical research protocols that complement their laboratory studies, and to discover the potential benefits of translational research. The major goal of this program is to train academic endocrinologists who function as independent laboratory scientists capable of developing hypotheses and creating research plans that address contemporary endocrine problems. M.D. candidates are eligible to sit for the Endocrine or Pediatric Endocrinology subspecialty boards.